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Peter Alexander James

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Oct, 2020

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34 Followers
26 Following

8 Stories

109 karma pts

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Birthdays, Bread and Buccaneers

Weekly Contest #345

Birthdays, Bread and BuccaneersBy Peter Alexander James “What books are you going to take?” Henri asked before turning his gaze to the scab on his knee. “She won’t have room for books, Henri,” Tova snapped. “She needs dresses.” “She’s still gonna need something to read,” Henri answered, picking the scab. His picking reminded her of the previous summer, when she had found him crying on the stairs after being bullied for being chubby. She had sung the lullaby her mother sang to her every night while stroking one of his hands. With the other, h...

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Gâteau d’Amour

Gâteau d’Amour By Peter Alexander James The fire cast shadows dancing around the room. Kate watched them flicker and spring from wall to wall and tried to guess where they would appear next. As her eyes followed them, her gaze landed on Ernest asleep in his chair. His breathing was heavy and each exhale was light enough not to form an audible snore. His checkered blanket had slid off his lap and was folded in a heap by his feet. Though the room was warm from the fireplace, she pulled herself up by pressing hard on the arms of her chair. Her...

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Engine Failure

Weekly Contest #336

Engine FailureByPeter Alexander James It was the worst thing I’d ever said to a human being—and I said it to Lucy. A heavy silence settled between us, underscored by the rain bouncing on our car’s roof and down our windshield. I glanced over to her; as I did, she hid her face in the collar of her jumper, breathing heavily to ease her urge to cry. I turned away, but my gaze caught us smiling back at me from a picture on my keychain. It was taken on a road trip we had done a while back. The Nowhere Tour, she had called it. A surprise five-da...

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One for the Road

One for the RoadByPeter Alexander James She said I had changed. That was her reason. Her reason to end our journey in the present and to make sure we never reached that future I had imagined night after night in the run-up to our first kiss.If I had changed, I hadn’t noticed it. I contemplated change as I swirled the ice in my glass. Does the caterpillar notice its metamorphosis into a butterfly? If so, what an experience that must be. One moment trudging along in the dirt, the next floating from flower to flower. An event I could possibly ...

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Moonlight over the Mediterranean

I’ve called this story Moonlight over the Mediterranean as the moon was present throughout it all, a third party in a love affair to which I’ll compare all other loves. A love affair that ended as abruptly as it started. You appeared and disappeared, vanished like you never existed. Though I question your existence, whatever happened that night changed me. So, dear reader, I hope you have heard this story before, I hope it was told to you by a young woman whose hair was black, skin tanned and eyes that set you ablaze. Whose way of life is l...

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Picture the Past

Weekly Contest #103

I can’t remember what I was looking for in the basement, but I’ll never forget what I found. It was in the jumble box; you know the one. There are boxes with books marked BOOKS, boxes of DVDs marked DVD’S and that one box full of emotional valuable rubbish, toys and silly souvenirs marked JUMBLE BOX. Under a plastic Big Ben and a participation trophy was the shimmering back side of a polaroid photo. On it, mum had scribbled Jasper and Victoria 1999. You know I’m Jasper, but what you should also know is, butterflies burst into flight as I rea...

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Away from Home

Weekly Contest #77

The old wooden cabin bathed in a warm golden glow after Tim lit the last candle. The frosty blue light from the heavily falling snow outside was held at bay by the warm radiance coming from the candlelight and the crackling fireplace. A smile stretched over Tim’s lips only to be wiped away by Penelope pouring another glass of wine in the kitchen. As Tim walked over to the cupboard, he was about to say something, but swallowed it for the peace to continue. She emptied her glass and brought a steaming pot to the small wooden table in the middl...

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The Fight

Weekly Contest #63

By the time I stepped outside, the leaves were on fire, the warm colours whirled and scattered in the autumn breeze. Walking through them, I tried to catch one and as my hand closed, a gust of wind would pull them from my grasp. Shouts and cheers stole my attention, the boys had gathered in the schoolyard to watch the big fight. I approached the crowd; the smaller boys were at the back standing on their tippy toes to catch a glimpse of their champions. I tried to squeeze in for a closer look, but two boys turned. “Boys only!” “I just wanna w...

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